Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Philosophy The Allegory of the Cave The Allegory of the Cave Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is the most comprehensive and far-reaching analogy in his book, The Republic. This blanket analogy covers many of the other images Plato uses as tools through out The Republic to show why justice is good. The Allegory of the Cave, however, is not the easiest image that Plato uses. First, one must understand this analogy and all of it’s hidden intricacies, then one will be able to apply it to the other images Plato uses such as the Divided Line, or Plato’s Forms. As Plato begins his story, he describes a dark cave. Contained inside of this cave are many people who are tied up into seats, unable to move. For their entire life, these people have been tied up without even being able to rotate their heads. They have chains that bind their hands to their seats. They have never seen anything apart from the wall directly in front of them. Their entire lives have been spent watching the wall and communicating with each other about the things they see on the wall. Behind these chained people is a large fire. This fire burns bright and allows shadows to be cast onto the wall. Below this fire is a small trench where the others of the cave lie. Here they hold up puppets and objects, casting shadows onto the wall. They essentially create the reality that the chained down live in, however, those chained down do not know this. They know only of the shadows on the wall and these shadows interactions with each other. If they see the shadow of a book, they will say to one another, in their own language, “look at the book on the wall.” They will not know that it is only a shadow, an image of the real object that is held up behind them to cast the appearance of a book onto the wall. They will only see what appears to be the real book in front of them. One day the shadow makers free one of the chained down individuals. At first he is hesitant, he does not understand what is happening. Their intentions are to bring him out of the cave. As they lead him past the fire and he sees the others casting shadows on the wall he is dumb founded. He cannot comprehend what is happening as they push him further, out of the cave. As he emerges from the cave the sun blinds him. Never before has he witnessed something so bright and intense. Eventually he grows accustomed to the light and begins to see things. He sees trees and birds. He sees houses and people. He is taken back by all there is outside of the cave. He sees a book and then notices it’s shadow. He finally understands that all of his life and all of his experiences were based on shadows, images of things real. No sooner does he understand this than the others try to push him back into the cave. He doesn’t want to go, however. He has seen a new and fuller world. The others finally push him back into the cave and as he tells the others of the world above they mock him. They make fun of him because all that he says is nonsense to them. Their reality still exists as shadows. He can no more explain to them about the true form of the book than they can convince him that the only true form is the shadow. He has now become completely insane to them and if given the chance they would kill him. Plato’s story describes for us both the process of education and it’s positives and negatives. This story paints a quite vivid picture of the actual interaction of humans throughout the education process. When Plato wrote this story, he was mainly thinking about a philosophical education, however, in some ways this tale tells the story of the beginnings of all education. The philosophical education that Plato speaks of is that which he lays out in The Republic. Plato tells this tale in order to show people what truly happens to the philosopher. In his day, Plato saw many such as Socrates find a higher truth through education and philosophy. He then saw these people try to bring this enlightenment to the general public, try to re-enter the cave. Plato saw people such as Socrates try to bring the average person the knowledge that he gained from outside of the cave. The common people of the time acted just as Plato had described they would in The Allegory of the Cave. These people rejected the philosopher and his knew enlightenment. They called him crazy, a corrupter of the children. They rejected his idea that things were made of more than that which we can see. They still believed that the earth was filled with merely things, the shadows from the story. Socrates could not, however, believe these things because he had left the cave and saw the greater truth. He was alienated and finally put to death for his new view of the world. Plato makes reference to the death of Socrates when, in the Republic, he writes, “And, as for anyone who tried to free them and lead them upward, if they could somehow get their hands on him, wouldn’t they kill him?” 189. One might wonder why Socrates even re-entered the cave. Why didn’t Socrates stay outside in the sun? Plato tells us that exiting the cave and seeing the forms, the trees and the sky, the earth and the sun, will free us. He tells us that this exodus from the cave is truly great and the philosopher must achieve this. However, he tells us this is not the only thing a philosopher must do. Just as important as exiting the cave and seeing the light from the sun is bringing this knowledge back to those in the cave. It is important that Plato stress this because this describes why a philosopher would put themselves through the persecution they would feel from those still “in the cave.” The philosopher knows that most will not accept his new knowledge. He writes, “Wouldn’t he (the philosopher) invite ridicule? Wouldn’t it be said of him that he’d returned from his upward journey with his eyesight ruined and that it isn’t worth while to even try to travel upwards?” 189. He still re-enters the cave and tries to describe the world above to all those who have not seen it. In some ways the persecution of those of higher philosophical enlightenment stretched to all forms of early education. Many have been persecuted for their ideas, only to end up correct a few hundred years later when science was able to prove them right. The ideas that the world was round, or that the planets actually revolved around the sun were ideas that were very widely rejected at first and most of the time criticized. These ideas, however, have been changed to scientific fact in the last few hundred years. At first one may think that the acceptance of this fact by the general population is a testament that sooner or later, everyone leaves the cave to see the truth about things. This is not the case, however. If you walked up to someone on the street and asked, “Is the world round or flat?” his or her answer would most likely be that the earth was round. It would sound as if they, and everyone else, had walked out of the cave to be immersed in the knowledge that the earth was round. This is incorrect, however. If you then asked them, “can you prove to me that the earth is round?” they would most likely not know how to. They have not walked out of the cave to gain this knowledge, but enough people have that an entire population is convinced of it. This is why Plato says that the enlightened philosopher must go back to the cave. To show people the truth, and though they might not truly know it themselves, they will be better off than when they were only seeing shadows on the wall. Plato’s theory of the Forms relates perfectly to the Allegory of the Cave. Plato describes all objects as merely poor representations of a true object, the Form. All things have forms, whether it be a desk, a cat, or a book. These objects, the objects we touch and feel are the imperfect representations of the true, intangible form. The allegory of the Cave describes best one’s education in the Forms. At first, when one is tied down inside the cave, one sees only shadows. These shadows move and speak; they interact with other shadows. They appear to be what is real because nothing more real than them is seen. These are likened to the things we see everyday; a desk, a chair, the waffle eaten for breakfast. We see shadows but we have no knowledge of anything higher. Plato describes the man’s ascent to the outside world. At first, when he is freed, he turns to see the puppets and cannot comprehend that these objects are creating the shadows, the reality that he has lived with. This could be likened to the first experience one has with the forms. They seem intangible and out of reach. They seem fictitious so one continues to see the shadows as reality. Through great struggle, one finally begins to see the world above. Trees, grass, flowers are seen. The world is full of these objects now, more real than the forms. The person who has emerged from the cave sees that the trees and the flowers make shadows of themselves as light hits them. He now understands that the real objects have been the puppets and what he believed in all of his life has been merely a projection on a wall. When this man realizes this, he is essentially accepting the forms. This is what philosophers, according to Plato, strive for. It is upon recognition of these true forms that one gains better knowledge about the shadows he lived with before. He also remembers those still seeing shadows as what are real and wants to go back and show them the truth. The man has one more surprise. When his eyes finally are able to see everything, finally are adjusted to the light, he begins to study the sun. Plato writes that the man, “concludes that the sun provides the seasons and the years, governs everything in the visible world and is the cause of, in some way, all things he used to see.” 188. The sun is the form of good and through it’s illumination the things known, the forms, can be seen by the mind. The man, as he is walking back in the cave, understands now that what he has seen is the truth. He has seen the forms of the objects he only saw shadows to before. When he is back in the cave he tries to explain to the others that there are forms of the shadows they see on the wall. These forms are what truly is, but they reject him. The journey of this man is likened to that of all philosophers educated in the forms, Plato says. The Allegory of the Cave has many applications to both Plato’s writing and life in general. It describes the education of a philosopher, as well as how others look on the philosopher after he has gained the knowledge of the Forms. It also describes what it is like to see the forms. After understanding the forms, what once were objects, real things, become merely shadows. One sees everything as it truly exists, as it’s form. Bibliography: Word Count: 1977
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